Friday Night Buffet at the Hyatt Trinidad: Feast Without Breaking The Bank!
The Friday Night Buffet has returned to the Hyatt Trinidad! Cost is $325TT per person (exc. vat & service charge). For reservations call 821-6550.
Featured
Punch de Creme (recipe)
Punch de Creme, is another of Trinidad’s traditional Christmas drinks. One thing that I really like about punch de creme (as opposed to traditional eggnog) is the use of citrus flavors like lime and Angostura bitters (which has orange extract). This gives the ‘nog’ a …
Trinidad Paime (recipe)
As promised, here is a recipe for Paime (pron. PAY-me)! Paime is basically a sweet version of the savoury pastelle. I only recently discovered that Paime is also a traditional Xmas dish. Well that explains why it seemed I never could find it lol! No …
Trinidad Pastelles (recipe) now with Delicious Vegan Option!
One of Trinidad’s seasonal delights, pastelles are a steamed cornmeal pie wrapped in banana leaves and filled with stewed meat, olives, and raisins. I’ve been told that they are very similar to Latin American tamales, and indeed Venezualan foodblogger Tomasnomas has a link to the …
Sorrel Drink (recipe & video)
Christmas in Trinidad is a diverse multicultural affair. Not just for the Christian population, but also through the secular participation of the nation at large through the enjoyment of our local christmas songs (called parang) and especially the creation and consumption of our traditional Christmas …
Trinidad Black Cake (recipe)
Like sorrel, Black Cake in Trinidad is a Christmas institution. Made predominantly of alcohol drenched prunes, currants and raisins, variations abound (and I love taste testing when we make the visiting rounds). Still, the best black cake is always the recipe that one grew up …
In Trinidad, Christmas is Parang! (video & holiday recipe roundup)
What is Parang? Well Parang is the soundtrack to Christmas here in Trinidad. More than that however Parang is also a culture, a way of life that sweeps through my island after the lights of Eid and Divali have been put away. The What is …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 7 – Carnival Bands
I was talking to a Brazilian friend a few years ago and she was surprised at some of the differences between our Carnival and theirs. You see it was a few weeks prior when she decided to look and see what costume/band she should …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 6 – J’Ouvert & Ole Time Mas
J’ouvert (joo-VAY) is the start to the Carnival celebrations. It begins in the pre-dawn hours of Carnival Monday and lasts until daybreak. J’ouvert (which is a Creole corruption of the French Jour Ouvert – day opening) is also known as ‘dirty mas’. It seems …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 5 – Dimanche Gras
Dimanche Gras takes place on the Sunday night before Ash Wednesday. Here the Calypso Monarch is chosen (after competition) and prize money and a vehicle bestowed. Also the King and Queen of the bands are crowned, where each band to parade costumes for the next …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 4 – Fetes!
If you are getting the sense that Carnival is one big long party you are right! So it only makes sense that one big long party would be made of many many big long parties as well. These parties in Trinidad are called fetes and …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 3 – Steelbands and Panorama
It seems that every time a North American program wants to denote the ‘tropics’ you will hear the sound of a steelpan. It doesn’t even to seem to matter if the ‘tropics’ are in the Caribbean on a cruise ship or in Hawaii! If you …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: Part 2 – Soca Music
It is hard to imagine Carnival without music. And the definitive music of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is soca. So what is Soca Music? Well, why not let Soca Superstar Machel Montano say it in his own words? From Caribbean Music 101 (the original link …
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival – A Brief Overview
With only a few days before ‘High Mas’ it is time again to shine a spotlight on Trinidad & Tobago’s largest cultural festival, Carnival. Where did the word “carnival” come from? Hundred and hundreds of years ago, the followers of the Catholic religion in …
Ghosts of Our Culinary Past – Legacy of Our People
Who is Sylvia Hunt? If you came of age in the late 80’s onwards you probably haven’t heard her name. Similarly, several years ago, the then-UK based Trini food blogger Can Cook Must Cook posted on “Those Disappearing Pleasures”, the snacks of her childhood which …
Sarina’s Pigeon Peas and Rice (recipe)
This dish of pigeon peas and rice was the perfect accompaniment to the Crispy Lemon Chicken that I made earlier this year. The rice and peas are cooked together in a rich combination of fresh thyme and coconut milk with wedges of tomatoes and (if …